Dual natures: Prologue
by riolulover97
Summary: What if all you had known in your life was secretly a lie? What if one day the ordinary life you had been living was just...thrown out the window? Could start over in a new place with a new life? Or would you try to find a way back to your previous one? All of these questions and more will have to be answered by one young boy. His name: Eli.
1. Chapter 1: When life gets strange

Hey guys, I'm back with the start of a new fic! you probably know why I'm doing this, so I'll only bother to tell you this;

From now on, as a way to make my stories a bit more interesting, I'm going to include certain quotes that I feel best-fit chapters that I feel are...important. You know, the big moments, the highlights, the turning points, parts like that.

And...yeah, that's all I wanted to say so let's get on with it!

* * *

 ** _Just when I think I have learned the way to live, life changes._**

 _-Hugh Prather_

* * *

I lived in a small town, not really known for anything major or important. All we had was a small forest behind us, and a road in front of us. My house was the second one down said road, where I lived with my family. We were a small group, just me, my dad, my mom, and a little sis. the four of us had our highs and lows, but we always stuck together.

Maybe that's how this all started.

Me and my sis had gone out into that small patch of trees I was talking about to play. We were pretty close, and she was the sweetest little thing once you got her to open up. Like an orange, fresh from the tree. Me on the other hand well, I was always a bit caught up in my own world. I just kept to my study's, hoping to one day make a name for myself through my knowledge. Because of this, I always had my face in some type of book whenever I had the time, be it for business or pleasure. Of course, I always made time for my family, especially my little sis.

The two of us had found the spot where we had always gone to, she always asked me to come to play with her here, and I always said yes. The games we played were silly in concept, who could pick up the most sticks, who could jump the highest, who could say the alphabet quicker, little childish things like that. But I'd be lying if I said they weren't some of the best times I had, beaten only by a good novel, coupled with a few biscuits and a glass of orange juice. All things considered, we had a pretty good time and had made our way back to the place we called home with a basket of sticks.

Right about then was when it all came crashing down on top of us.

Like I said earlier, our town was not well known and thus, had a mediocre police station that didn't even bother to check the forest. This is the reason we found ourselves being threatened by someone we had never seen before with a sharp, glistening, knife. The thug was covered with a dark grey cloak and demanded we lead him back to our home so he could rob the place. Naturally, we got the heck out of there and dropped the sticks.

Not the smartest move.

He was faster than us and had us cornered behind one of the large boulders in the woods...i...can't remember most of the details, but what I do remember is this: at some point he had slashed at my sister with the thing, and kept cutting her with the knife...its...hard to remember without cringing...the tears on her face...the way she pleaded him to stop...the way he kept barking orders to her...

I think it was there, that I lost it.

I had tried to stop him, but every time I did he just threw me off like I was a fly, a bee, a gnat...i just felt so upset...so angry...so hurt...so weak... I felt my fingers tense up and my teeth grit themselves...the last thing I said before I completely lost control was me screaming; "GET AWAY FROM HER!" before I felt sharp appendages rise from my tensed fingers as I swung my hand at the thief...what happened next was a blur...i heard the thief scream in pain..at least, I think it was pain...my sis looked at me...my body...felt really weird. My fingers started going numb, I felt...hair in places it shouldn't be, and my stomach started moving around, to the point where I wanted to throw up..but for some reason, I couldn't...leaving me with a feeling of nausea. Eventually, my conscience couldn't handle it, and I passed out.

* * *

When next I awoke, I was in a small room that had white walls, a white floor, a white light, and...well, was just really WHITE...what I experienced next was...shocking, to say the least.

What tried to do at first was stand up and walk around but when I did, for some reason I fell almost instantly. I kept trying to stand, but it just didn't work...that's when I noticed...i...didn't...have...hands.

I let out a small yelp when I realized this and tried to look at the rest of myself..once I had managed to roll over, I saw...i...had...black...fur...now I was properly freaked out.

I then noticed a small pool of water to my left. I didn't know why but I was really thirsty at the time, to the point where it took priority over figuring out what heck the even happened to me. So since I apparently couldn't stand, I dragged myself to the water with my...let's call them...'stubs' till I was close enough to drink it...of course, my stubs were pointed at the end and...had..no...fingers...so after failing to scoop the water in my 'stubs' i decided to just use my tongue instead. Sure it wasn't the best table manners, but mom wasn't here to nag me about that, so I didn't care.

 _"Mmm."_ I thought to myself as I drank. The liquid was cool, clean, and very refreshing. I breathed out a content breath as I looked at the surface of the water...only to see a ripple of black fur stare back at me...

I shut my eyes before the ripples could calm. " _No.", I told myself. "This isn't happening. There is a perfectly reasonable explanation for all of this."_

Yet no matter how much I repeated those exact words to myself, my heart wouldn't slow down. It kept beating at the same rapid pace for about six minutes before I tried something else. _"You are okay. You're alright. And most importantly given the current circumstances, you are human. If you were to open your eyes and look at the water in front of you, you would see yourself. Not somebody else, yourself. You are you. Nothing, living or dead, can change that..you are human. You have to be. you were born a human, so you can't be anything else. It would go against the very laws of nature."_

As I kept adding truth upon truth to my tangent, my heart eventually managed to slow back down to a normal pace...slower...slower...until finally, it relaxed. I felt myself smile. " _See? there's nothing to be worried about, you are human. To be anything else would be absurd... it's okay. Your human...now...open your eyes. Open your eyes, look at the reflection, and see there was nothing to worry about."_ I follow my own advice and open my eyes, expecting...knowing, there to be a human gazing back at me.

What I saw instead, was a small black fox grinning back at me...a zorua.

I immediately dunk my face under the water. " _THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF LIIIIGHT!"_ My brain kept screaming the same words over and over and over again. I couldn't believe it. It was impossible. I wanted to see my family again. I wanted them to hold me, and tell me it was okay. I didn't want this.

 _"THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT!"_ My brain kept shouting the same sentence at my heart, demanding it to stay calm. Yet it only could keep beating at the speed of an athlete or it would not beat at all, knowing the truth in front of it, despite what my brain told it to believe. It was in full panic, like a runaway freight train with no breaks.

" _THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF THE LIGHT! THAT WAS A TRICK OF-"_

"HUUAAAA!"

I couldn't hold my breath any longer.

I was panting over the pool of water, my eyes closed...when they opened, I was greeted with a much more distressed (and much wetter.) zorua than the one before...now I'm not really sure how this happened, but the next thing I know I'm flying through the air and landing on my backside...it hurt, obviously.

I was starting to pant uncontrollably, partially because my body was starved for oxygen, and also because I was really, REALLY scared right now...before I could ask myself questions, I heard a door open as a strange lady dressed in pink walks in. Once she notices me, she says; "Oh! I see your awake little guy!" she then giggles a little bit. "And it seems you were quite thirsty too." I stare on, in utter disbelief at this woman, speechless.

She then sighs to herself. "Nothing huh? Well, I can't really blame you, I'd be at a loss for words too if I discovered something like this."...I look on a bit longer before I try to speak. "zor-!" I immediately grab my throat with my 'stubs' as I try to say actual words. "ZOR! ZORUA! ZOR! UA! UA!" I start to panic. Have I forgotten how to speak? Suddenly, the lady rushes over to me and says comforting words. "Hey hey! It's okay! It's okay!" As she says this, she kneels to the floor and gently picks me up. I react with fear, but before I can attempt to escape her grasp she starts...stroking me...

* * *

 **id (serenity) - Fire Emblem Awakening**

* * *

She was very gentle, slowly running her hand over my back repeatedly... I didn't know why but...as she did this... I felt...calmer...like she was soothing me. "..It's okay...it's okay..." she said as she did this. Eventually, she started to do the same to my cheek, I let out a little gasp when she did this...but soon enough, I went right back to being soothed...after a while of this, I looked at her face while she did this. "Shhh...Shhh..." she whispered as she continued to calm me down...eventually, my heart stopped beating so fast..once this happened she...gave me a hug...

"...You okay now?" she asked me...she felt so...warm... I was nodding my head before I realized I was..she then pulled away and then looked at me "Okay, I know you must be confused right now, maybe even scared. But if you keep panicking like this, it will only get worse...try to stay calm, and slowly sound the word out."

Not having anything else to go on...and almost being completely soothed at this point, I nodded my head and tried to say something. "..z...zo...zoru...zo...zor" I felt my panic return, but the lady just started stroking my side again.

"Just relax...if it helps, try closing your eyes," she told me, not wanting me to panic again

I trusted her, and did just that...it was...hard to describe what it felt like, trying to say something else...it was like my throat was paralyzed, and I was reaching for vocal cords that weren't there...but...i knew they were there...they had to be..."zo...o...o...o...oo...oo.."

"That's it...you can do it." the woman said, encouraging me to push further.

"..Oo...o...w...w...w...w...o...wo.." I felt like I was so close, just had to push a little harder...i tried to pronounce the breaths I exhaled. "...h...h..w...h..wh...o..w..h..o.."

"Keep going, your almost there," she asked...not that she needed to.

"W...h...o...w...h...o..w..h..o...wh..o..w..ho...w-who?" I just managed to breathe out a word...it's...also hard to describe why that felt so hard... I went for the next word.

"..Ua...ua...u...a..u...a...a...aa...aa..."

The lady went silent as I tried to teach myself how to speak again, seemingly wanting me to be able to focus... I tried to craft my exhales into another word.

"Aa...r...r...r...a...r..."

Almost there...just another letter.

"...E...e...a...e...a...r...e...a...r...e...a...r...e..a..r..e...ar..e...ar..e..a..re...a..re...a-are?" That's two, only one left and we have a question.

"...Y...y...o...o...u...u..."

I could tell I was starting to get better at this, my mind was starting to recover.

"...Y...o...u...y...o...u...y...o..u..y..o..u...yo..u...y..ou...y-you?" So close, just have to put them together...surprisingly, this was the easiest part.

"..Who...are...you?" *sigh* thank goodness, I can still talk.

She looked at me and smiled. "See? I knew you could do it." then she gave me a wink. "And to answer your question, my name is miss joy!"

"...W-" before I could take three more days to ask my next question, she put a finger to my mouth and said, "Don't worry, I can already tell what your next question is...how do I put this?" I looked at her, slightly confused. "...well...um...your..not..really...a human."

* * *

And there you go, guys! my new fanfic is now revealed! Now again, I want to reiterate that this does not mean I'm giving up on a buneary's heart. Rather, I'm going to keep up with both and switch whenever I feel like doing so. And...that's...really all he wrote...no, I'm serious, that all I wrote.

This is riolulover97 hoping you all go to heaven!


	2. Chapter 2: New friends, or foes?

**GUESS WHO'S BACK?!**

 **BACK AGAIN!**

Hey everyone, welcome back to dual natures! There's not really a whole lot I want to say this time (not much has been going on recently.) so let just allow ourselves to carry on with the fic.

Eli: Oh, so you're just going to ignore me then?

Me: DU- WHU-GU- HOW DID YOU GET HERE?!

Eli: I took a trans-dimensional portal here.

Me: …

Eli: What? This is MY story! I'm not just going to let you treat me like I'm a character in your novel! Heck, You didn't even tell them my name yet.

Me: It was in the description-

Eli: THAT DOESN'T COUNT AND YOU KNOW IT!

Me: FIIIINE YOUR MAJESTY! Everyone, this is Eli. He's the guy who's freaking out over the fact that he gonna turn into a werewolf every night now.

Eli: It's called a zorua!

Me: Yeah, and how is fact different from fiction again?

Eli: OH, SO YOU WANT TO GO YOU DISRESPECTING CHILD?! I'LL HAVE YOU KNOW I WILL PUNCH YOU STRAIGHT IN THE-

Me: OKAY, your getting too riled up. * **whips out hand and casts warp***

Eli: WAIT, WHAT ARE- * **gets** **teleported back home** *

Me: ugh, for heaven's sake. There could be KIDS here for all we know...and he was so calm before too...

* * *

 _ **There's not a word yet for old friends who've just met."**_

 _-Jim Henson_

* * *

…

Wow...this is….

Okay…..wow….

Um...where do I….start with this? (if any of you say; * _FrOm ThE_ _bEgInNiNg_ _DeRp!*_ I'm going to MCFREAKIN LOSE IT!)

So...apparently if miss joy is to be believed, then...i...was...never...A human to begin with.

ONE HOW EVEN DOES!?

Okay...chill….breathe in….breathe out….okay...okay…..I'm going to do the best I can to explain this, but even I still don't really know how this works so bear with me.

So, after a few hours of me trying to sound out words to myself, (trust me you didn't miss much.) miss joy expanded a bit more on my situation. She told me that zorua could transform into anything they wanted be it living or dead, mineral or vegetable. But, (and this is the REALLY confusing part) she told me that the only way zorua Are able to do this is through their tails. Apparently, even she's not sure of the specifics, but if a zorua loses their tail, they get stuck in whatever form they had taken until it grows back…

And that's when it hit me.

When I looked at...my….tail..(sorry if I keep slowing down the word, by the way, I'm just still shakey from all this.) I realized that it was..very small. Smaller than it probably should be given my...relative size…

"Oh my lord." I whispered to myself. "she's telling the truth."

Right about then I was starting to ask a flurry of questions. How did this happen? Why did this happen? Have I been a Pokemon my whole life? Does this mean my family is all zorua too? Where even are my family anyway?

That last question was the one that stuck in the back of my mind, so I asked miss joy about it. She told me that they were staying at the Pokemon center I was in. obviously, I wanted to go see them right away, but she advised against it because...well...they don't know that I'm….not...human...so them seeing me like this might be too much for them to handle given the circumstances.

After that, a few days passed. Joy informed my family that I was alive, but they wanted to keep me here to be sure there was nothing wrong. They knew better than to question her, so they went on there way back home to wait for my return..this...troubled me, to say the least as I was unsure if I could even return to them they way they wanted to see me. Most of my time at the center was consisted of having various tests run on me. Apparently, something like this was unheard of to most people and they wanted answers.

Which eventually...*sigh* led to the dreaded socialization test….where I would soon meet my new friend/burden/acquaintance/cruse. /reason I question why I even bother.

It was a very nice room that the test was in. It was kept at a nice cooling temperature, there was grass covering the floor and a medium sized lake to the left. There were even a few slides and a small swing..it seemingly was a nice enough place, so what could be the problem?

There were only Pokemon there. No humans.

* * *

 **Are you listening? - fire emblem fates**

* * *

Now, I've got nothing against Pokemon. They're nice enough and help with day to day problems humans face, and in return, humans give them a place to stay and food to eat. It's just, my hometown didn't have any Pokemon in it and now I was surrounded by them, with no idea how to act or behave, and I'm supposed to just...socialize with them? And it didn't help that I was on either, that just meant I had no excuse!

"*sigh* ms..joy...do..you..think..this..is...needed?" (at this point in time, I had just about remembered how to talk without taking a year and a half.)

"Oh come now, Eli! (she knew my name now by the way.) Of course it is! If you're a Pokemon, then you need to make friends with Pokemon. It's just logical!"

"O _f course."_ I thought. " _of course she would say something like this and expect me to just roll into it no questions asked."_

At the end of the day, I couldn't escape my situation and found my self in the middle of the playground, trying not to bump into anyone running recklessly through the place. It seemed to be going well enough, I found a nice quiet corner I could huddle in...but before I could take a nap something caught my eye.

* * *

 **Allow the music to finish if it hasn't already. (and may God bless you if you happened to pick an extended version.)**

* * *

I saw a small Pokemon playing in the aforementioned lake by themselves. They were just splashing the water around, no real goal in mind...then they looked at me. I immediately shifted my gaze away, hoping they wouldn't notice my presence. Sadly, luck was not on my side this time and the latter smiled, and then...sunk under the surface.

To say I saw that coming was as true as saying my dad likes to waste time. I mean I knew the lake was a decent size but..how deep was it? As I lay there pondering the situation, I heard..bubbles presumably from the lake. I turned, and sure enough every few moments a group of bubbles would rise to the surface. " _...what are you doing?"_ I thought to myself.

Now, I'm not really sure why I did this, maybe it was because of curiosity, maybe I was just bored. But regardless, I found myself walking over to the pond to investigate this event...eventually, I was face to face with the bubbles themselves. I stared at them for a few moments's not sure of what to make of them.

Not my smartest move.

"BOO!" said the figure as they launched out of the water and into my face. Naturally, I screamed and then jumped back into the opposite direction.

* * *

 **We should turn in for the night – fire emblem awakening**

* * *

They then giggled to themselves while having a mischievous grin on their face….well, I use the term 'they' but with the word giggling I'm sure you could tell what gender they were. Once I realized what just happened, a slapped my own face with my 'stub'. "Oh, ARE YOU SERIOUS!?….*sigh*...how did I not think of that?"

She rose from the pond her fur soaking wet, but she didn't seem to mind it very much. "Well, you didn't! And I guess that means that I win this round." she said, a triumphant smile on her face.

You know, I was about to ask myself just why I could understand what she was saying (cause to any old human, that would have been her saying her name over and over again…..in fact, to any human passing by, the same would be true for ME...also, yes. I have a much easier time speaking in that weird language, but I'm translating it to English because I'm just nice like that.)...and then the penny dropped.

"Yeah, yeah that's great. Look, what do you want. A cookie?" I said, not very pleased with the fact that I had just been pranked by a Pokemon of all things.

"A COOKIE!? WHERE!?" she shouted, her eyes sparkling at the prospect of the sweet treat entering her mouth and revitalizing her taste buds.

"Well if there IS one here, you won't get out of me," I said, thinking she didn't deserve such a luxury after what she just pulled.

"Hey! that's not very nice!" she said, the sparkle in her eyes vanishing at my blunt tone.

"Well, it's also not very nice to scare people! You reap what you sow." I said, remembering a quote from one of the many books I had read over the years.

"Aw, c'mon. You're not hurt, right? Mentally, emotionally, or physically?" she asked me, waiting for my response.

"Well...no, but-"

"Then why are you upset?" she asked, cutting me off from what I was about to say. I was going to argue….then I realized...she was right. Nothing bad had been caused by it, why get bothered by it?

Simple.

"Well, you still startled me!" I said, not willing to give up this argument just yet.

"And what's wrong with that? If you ask me, it can be fun to be startled randomly!" she said, trying to justify her choices.

Oh, I wish I could have seen the look on my face when she said that.

"Yeah well, not everyone is going to share that opinion you know. If you're going to scare someone, you should at least be sure they're okay with it." I said, using logic to best her simple argument.

"...But everyone I know here doesn't seem to mind it very much," she said, pausing for a minute to shake the water off her as she on just now realized she was soaking wet.

"Yeah, and I'm new here so what does that tell you?" I said, knowing that now she should understand me.

"Oh! Why didn't you tell me earlier?" she said, motioning with her paw that I was to follow. "I've got to introduce you to the gang then."

At this rate, I could tell there would be no use going back to my corner as she would just bring them to me, so I just followed suit. She led me to a small group of Pokemon behind a small patch of trees.

Sorry, did I forget to mention there were trees? And that the room was really big?

"Well look who it is, our favorite battery." said one a Meowth in the group in a teasing manner.

"Well look who it is, my favorite thief." she said in the same manner.

"Aw, c'mon, you know ya love me." the 'thief' said, seemingly friends with the girl.

"Do I? it's hard to tell sometimes." she said, seemingly trying to...well, it's not really clear WHAT they were trying to accomplish through this exchange.

"Well enough about us, who's the stranger ya brought with you?" he asked, most likely referring to me based on his look.

"Oh right! This is...uh..."

"*sigh* Eli." I said, answering a question that should have been answered earlier.

"Eli, this is Joss. He'll take anything that isn't nailed down in this place so if you want something, call dibs before he can." she said, giving a description of this stranger.

"...Heyy." I said, offering my stub to him.

"Pleasure to meet you man." he said, returning the gesture in a handshake.

Wait, Pokemon have handshakes? Eh, doesn't matter.

"Joss, this is Eli. He's new around here, so don't mess with him too much alright?" she asked the normal-type, who in response, simply put his arms behind his head.

"Oh I wouldn't dare...after all, that's YOUR job is it not?" he said, pointing at her head.

She snickered at this, clearly amused. "Yeah if I don't prepare him for our shenanigans, who will?"

"Shenanigans?" I said, clearly confused and not ready to go along with any of this…

"You'll see. Anyway if you're going to hang with us, and I'm assuming you are based on the current turn of events, you'll need to know the gang." he explained.

"...What kind of gang are we talking about?" I said I bit concerned about where this was heading.

"Oh it's nothing special, just a group of the most diverse people you will ever see." joss said as he walked forward, expecting us to follow.

As we made our way to the spot, the one from before spoke to me again. "in all seriousness though." I turned at her face.

"...I'm sorry if you didn't appreciate my first impression. I just thought it was the best way to greet someone new like yourself, give you a taste of what to expect and all that." ...the odd thing was that she seemed genuinely sincere with her apology.

"So do you think...we can do this over?" she asked as she extended her paw to mine.

"….."

She was being awfully nice about this whole thing…

"...*sigh* alright, live and let live I suppose." I said as I took her paw and shook it, remembering another quote from one of the many books I had read.

"So you already know me. Eli, zorua. What about yourself?" I asked.

She gave me a smile and then said "Eini, shinx."

* * *

And does it for chapter two guys! I'm sorry if this one felt like it took a bit long to get out, but I've been feeling kind of sick recently as of me writing this. I'm doing the best I can to fight it off, but it has been slowing me down a bit with uploads. Not trying to make excuses, just telling facts,

Eini: Please review! And have a great day! ^_^

Me: o_e

Eini: uh...are you o-

Me: NOT YOU TOO!

Eini: AH! PLEASE! I HAVEN'T EVEN CONTRIBUTED TO PLOT YET!

Me: IT DOSN'T MATTER, YOUR GOING BACK NOW GET IN THE NET!

Eini: NOOOOOO!


	3. Chapter 3: A goal revealed

…

Okay... I think they're gone…

Hey guys riolulover97 here, Back with another chapter of Dual natures!…...okay, I think I lost them somewhere past the alleyway, and when I ran into wall mart. Gotta remember that.

…

Uh…

ON WITH THE CHAPTER!

* * *

 _ **The only difference between a hero and the villain is that the villain chooses to use that power in a way that is selfish and hurts other people.**_

* * *

 _\- Chadwick Boseman_

Eventually, we had made our way to a small group of Pokemon that consisted of a blitzle, a treecko, a makhuita, and a croagunk...

He was right. This IS the most diverse group of people I have ever seen.

* * *

 **chill buster – Deltarune (remix by nyxtheshield.)**

* * *

"Well, well, well. It seems we have a new guy on our hands." the croagunk said, presumably to me.

"Alright! Now there's finally ten of us!" said the blitzle, seemingly pleased by the turn of events.

"Uh before we get ahead of ourselves, who ARE you guys?" I said, wanting some clearance on the group of strangers I had just been introduced to.

"Allow me." Eini said, indicating that she knew enough about this group to give a summary about them.

"Everyone, this is Eli. He's new to this entire place, so let's not harass him….more than necessary." they all got a chuckle out of that line...oh, this is going to be a long day.

She walked over to the blitzle first "Eli, this is Zoe. She's probably the most energetic of the group out of all of us, but only when she wants to be."

"Hi!" she said sticking her hoof out, I shook it naturally...don't tell my mom that by the way, she's a bit of a germaphobe. (in fact, don't tell her ANY of this okay?)

Eini then walked over to the treecko. "And this is Vasu. He's a nice guy, but he doesn't talk very much." he then grunted and nodded at me.

She kept walking to the next guy. "This is Jax. He's probably the strongest out of all of us, but also the slowest."

"What's up?" he asked as we shook hands. (at this rate, it was to be expected.)

She then walked to the final member of the circle. "And here we have Amar. He's a doer, and is the guy you go to when you need help with something."

"The pleasure's mine." he said, though he warned against me shaking his hand for...some reason.

I then took notice of a strange figure in the back...a...golett I think. "Who's that guy?" I asked pointing my stub at it.

Eini turned to look at them "Him? That's Seoc..he's a bit...reclusive. He helps us when we need it, but not without some kind of price."

The being of clay seemingly was looking off into the distance lost in thought, his arms crossed.

I then moved on to my next question about this group. "So what is it you guys do, if anything?" I asked.

Jax then answered me. "Well to put it one way, we're kind of like the mischief makers of the Pokemon center. We go around and find out secrets about the place that could benefit the Pokemon that are here, and then give that info to the highest bidder...we're kind of like detectives." he explained as thoroughly as he could.

"Only instead of saving lives, you just make them...easier? And at the expense of the people who own the facility no less?" I asked, wondering if I should even be associating myself with these people.

"Hey, we never said that our cause was entirely just. And it's not like we're out to ruin their lives or something, we're just taking what they're not giving." Amar tried to reason with me.. I still didn't really get it. "Now if you want somebody around here that's just a bunch of JERKS, look no further than Iman's gang."

"Oh yeah, they suck." Eini said in a blunt manner, clearly not a fan of this 'Iman'.

"Dare I ask why?" I said, curious as to why this was the case.

Eini sighed and gave me a rundown. "Well, basically they're this group of thugs that just make life harder for everybody, even themselves in some ways. To them, humans are gods, and Pokemon are slaves. So they do everything they can to make life better for the humans by rating out secrets Pokemon find about the place and get the higher-ups to fix whatever that was."

"...You know….that doesn't sound all that bad to be honest.." I said, a bit reluctantly given the situation.

"Yeah I know, and it's not like I have a grudge against humans or whatever, EXCEPT HE'S COMPLETELY BIASED!" Eini shouted before calming down slightly.

"He only does it because they always reward him with treats, or toys, or more lackey's! He SAYS that he thinks extra treatment for Pokemon is unfair, yet he never refuses it when HE'S the one getting pampered!" She then took a moment to sigh and said, "..I'm sorry it's just, I can't keep my cool when that guy is involved."

"No, I get it. He's doing this only for his own selfish gain, I'd start yelling myself if I knew him personally." I answered, now officially on her side with this debate. "But anyway, is there anyone else I should know?"

"Well..yeah there is..." Eini then started looking around the room. "...Hey...where are the other two?" she asked, implying that there was someone missing from the group.

"They're probably off in that place again, who knows when they'll leave." the treecko said, clearing up the issue. Eini then sighed.

"Really? Again? *sigh* I know she's bashful, but this is just ridiculous." she stated clearly not pleased with the new development. "...Eli, they're not here right now, but there's also a teddiursa and pansear in our group. We don't know why but-"

"GUYS!" a pansear shouted as he ran to the group. Presumably, the same one that Eini was talking about.

"Kunal? Why are you running?" Eini asked, unaware of why he was in such a rush.

* * *

 **Let the music finish if it hasn't already.**

* * *

He was panting and clearly in distress. "Whoa man! Relax!" Zoe said, trying to get him to...well, relax. "Why are you freaking out?" she asked.

"They….*pant*...they got Julia!" he managed to say before resuming his panting.

"What!? WHO?!" Jax asked, wanting to know who exactly 'they' were.

"*pant*...im...ima..."

He didn't need to say the rest.

"ARE YOU SERIOUS?!" Eini screamed. "OKAY, I know this guy antagonizes us, but WE TOOK A VOW!"

"And you expected him to honor it?" Amar asked.

"AT LEAST MORE THAN-you know what? Doesn't matter, kunal where is she?" Eini asked.

"...The next...room over...*pant*" he breathed out before he fell to the ground, exhausted.

"Right, Jax the vent!" Eini said before he nodded and ripped the cover off the nearest one.

"Wait, WAIT! what's going on?!" I asked, everything happening too fast for me to make sense of it all.

Eini then turned to me. "There's no time for me too explain, your either coming with us or not!" she said as she ran into the air vent along with everyone else...leaving me alone…..in silence….with someone possibly in danger….

Wait.

HOLD ON, BACK UP-SOMEONE IN DANGER?!

I felt the same instinct to protect my sis...the one that got me in this mess...but I'd be lying if it didn't propel me into that vent at an alarming speed, and get me to where I was needed FAST.

(TIME SKIP: 240 SECONDS LATER)

Once I had finally made it out of those vent's, I saw I was in a different room. It was much more rocky, with hills and dirt. The group I was introduced to square off against a group I knew not….but before I could run to their side…

* * *

 **( A/N Now I love Pokemon, but I'm not exactly a veteran, so forgive me if any of the moves the Pokemon shown here use are not ones they can actually learn...or are even in the games for that matter.)**

 **Team skull battle music - Pokemon sun/moon**

* * *

"ARM THRUST!" Jax shouted as he threw his arm at what I think was a rattata. It then retaliated as it sunk its teeth into his arm….it drew blood…

Blood….

Blood…..they actually….just….

I could feel myself shrinking backwards... I took a step back. _"blood..."_ I took another. " _...they just drew blood..."_ I took another…..it was then I had a terrifying thought. _"What if…..what if….."_ as I was thinking, a saw one of the rattata's eyes….all I saw was rage...pain...the veins...oh god the veins…. I knew then….yes….they were trying to do that...they were ABSOLUTELY trying to do that.

I ran. I ran harder than I could ever remember running. I jumped into a nearby bush... I was terrified. I could see through the leaves that they were still fighting…. I was so terrified that I wasn't about to ask why these leaves were so out of place. LET THAT SINK IN.

The treecko then grunted loudly and sent a storm of leaves at the rats. They screamed in pain at this before jumping back. "CHARGE BEAM!" Eini cried before the rats were sizzled with volts and then fell to the ground unconscious. She was then caught off guard by a team of sewaddle that shot the same storm of leaves at her. She flinched and then jumped back.

"FLAME CHARGE!" Zoe cried as she ran through all of the bugs at once. They were all knocked out. Next was a group of patrat that jumped on her and bit down hard. She screamed and started to try and shake them off. She was successful, but the patrat were already lunging at her to do it again.

"POISON JAB!" Amar shouted before he started thrusting his hands into the patrat, who all started to turn purple afterward...so that's why he warned me…

* * *

 **let the music play out if it hasn't already.**

* * *

eventually there were no more goons left The six of them stood there, panting. "..*pant*..*pant*..you guys okay?" Eini asked her friends.

"..*pant*..never better." they all responded at the same time... I just stood there….

They….actually did it... I thought.

"..Phew..okay, let's find Julia and then get out of here before someone finds us." She said as she started to walk to the door out of the room...before a voice interrupted her.

"Don't get ahead of yourself now." it said. I turned and tried to locate it, but it was to no avail.

"! Where are you Iman! I know your voice!" Eini yelled at the voice wherever it may be.

"Well if you must know," it said as the vent on the top left shot forward into the wall and out of the vent jumped a growlithe...with a scar on his chest.

* * *

 **Chaos – fire emblem awakening**

* * *

He then turned to the shinx and smiled an evil smile. "...Well. aren't the gods kind to offer me another chance to see you again..how long has it been, since we last met face to face?" the fire type asked. Eini said nothing, just stared back at him. "What? No tears? No hateful words? Don't tell me you've already forgiven me for all those months ago."

"For me to forgive you would mean I would be casting all my beliefs aside as if they were nothing...for me to be upset with you would be childish..." she then turned to the left, refusing to meet his gaze. "I'm just sad you can't see what you've done wrong." her voice was cold, precise. Very much different from the playful tone I heard in it before. He just laughed at this...and then said something I didn't see coming.

"You KNOW you can't convince me that humans are weaker than Pokemon… I can't be swayed from who I am babe."

It was that first word that set off a red light in my head. _"Babe? Why would he..."_ before I could piece two and two together, the answer was flat out shoved into my face.

"Oh, get off your high ponyta." she said before she looked to the left again. "…. I don't know what I saw in you." she then looked him dead in the eyes. "Wait, yes I do. A dying boy, crying out for help...one I couldn't save..." as she said this last sentence, her head fell to the ground.

He then grunted. "I'll get off mine, once you get off yours. You KNEW what kind of person I was, and the lengths I was willing to go to in order to get my way." he then smiled again. "But you went along with it anyway….come now Eini, we all know there was a time when you were no different than me." Iman said as he looked at her.

"..." She didn't respond.

"Heh, not even gonna try to defend yourself? Typical." he said as he looked to the upper-left. "...you know,...it was things like THAT. Things just like this that made me frustrated with you...you NEVER did anything for yourself back then, and I always had to do everything….it got to a point..." as his voice trailed off, his paws were suddenly lit aflame with a burning fire. "...Where I wanted to BEAT the lesson into you."

* * *

 **End song**

* * *

"...Well, now's your chance." she said as her paws suddenly crackled with electricity, the voltage dancing through her fur as a soft hum resonated with the charge….

They both stood each other down for 60 seconds..

"….Oh, but one small thing." he said as ninjask suddenly appeared out of nowhere and grabbed her friends while lifting them into the air.

"W-WHAT THE HECK!?" Zoe yelled as every one of them was immobilized in the ninjask's iron grip.

"This is between US, and US ALONE!" He shouted as he lunged at her.

* * *

 **Chaos (ablaze) – FE: awakening**

* * *

"FIRE FANG!" he screamed as his mouth burst into flame, nearly biting Eini who jumped back before it hit her.

"CHARGE BEAM!" she yelled as a beam of volts hurled in his direction. He smiled and ran to the left dodging it while she tried to cut him off with the beam. Before she could, he jumped against the wall.

"FIRE CLAW!" he shouted as the flames on his paw took the form of five inch long nails while launched off the wall, slashing at Eini who was still trying to hit him with charge beam. She hissed at the burn, but it wasn't enough to stop her next move.

"THUNDER FANG!" she yelled as her teeth took the shape of bolts that pierced the fur of the growlithe. He jumped back and slammed her against a wall before she could get a grip on him.

As he jumped back a few feet, he said "...UGH, your VOICE is worse than your BITE. That barely did anything!" he said as he landed.

"I know." she said as an aura of sparks flew around her. "CHARGE!" she shouted as she absorbed the sparks. "CHARGE BEAM!" she screamed as she anticipated where he was going to dodge and met him halfway….that did a number on him.

"AHHH!" he screamed as he jumped up to escape the damage...probably what she was planning for him to do.

"THUNDER FANG!" she cried as she lept into the air to capitalize on this maneuver. Yet before the move could hit, he spun to the left and retaliated.

"FIRE FANG!" he shouted as his teeth met flesh. Eini screamed as she frantically ran around the room trying to shake him off.

"CHARGE!" she shouted as sparks flew into her again, paralyzing Iman. She then slammed him against the wall. "CHARGE BEAM!" she screamed as the volts flew forward into her target. He screamed again in pain. "THUNDER FANG!" she yelled, attempting to knock him out. He then lept to the side and kicked her with his hind legs..

She did a flip and then landed on the ground. A few feet away...they were both pretty torn up. Her fur was singed and charred black in a few spots, while he had marks carved into his skin with static whipping around his body.

"c'mon Eini! YOU GOT THIS!" Jax shouted, giving her words of encouragement.

"WIN THIS! FOR ALL OF US!" Zoe added, believing that this was doable.

"He's a cat drunk off his own power! SHOW HIM WHAT FOR!" Amar yelled, believing in Eini too.

The two of them stared down each other down for ten seconds

"...*Pant*...that's it...I've had enough of this." he said as his entire body suddenly burst into flame. "I WILL NOT FALL TO THE LIKES OF YOU! FLAAAARRRREE!" he screamed as the flames surrounded his body.

"...*pant*...figures you'd need...to get desperate.." she said as lightning started to crackle around her. "BUT I CAN'T AFFORD TO LOSE THIS ONE! VOOOOLLLLLT!" she screamed as electricity exploded around her, creating an aura of destruction.

"BLIIIITZ!" he screamed as he charged forward, rage in his eyes.

"TACKLLLLLLE!" she screamed as she did the same, down to the exact berserk rage.

The two moves met with a sickening crack, as they struggled for dominance. Spears of lighting met tongues of flame as the two of their heads pushed against each other...sadly, Iman started to gain ground slowly. Step by step.

When he had her in the right position he swung his claw at her side, catching her off guard long enough to cancel her move and use his finisher. "FLAMETHROWER!" he cried as he shot a stream of flame at her, she screamed as she was pushed against the wall by the torrent of flame.

* * *

 **Let the music play out If it hasn't already**

* * *

He took a moment to pant and catch his breath before he smiled and made his way to Eini. She was almost completely spent, her fur had streaks of black all over it...she tried to push herself back up…..but then….a single tear ran down her face.

Everyone in the room save for Iman was shocked about this. Seemingly even Eini herself. She touched her cheek as it slid down, the drop of water wetting her paw...she just looked on, unable to comprehend why she was crying before more started to run down her face.

"..There...You always would cry when you got hurt….remember when you always came to me when you needed to be patched up?" Iman said as he placed a paw against the wall. She just looked at her own, the tears still flowing.

"...What I wouldn't give to go back to those days…...when you were still yourself…..when you weren't THIS." she spoke as she let her paws lie on the floor, almost completely immobilized. Too weak to move any further than she already had. He then looked at her with that same smile on his face before…..

He kissed her….

It was only on her cheek, but it still counted...she looked at him with a look of disgust, mixed with confusion as to what he was doing. "...Well I will admit, I WAS more attractive back then…." he whispered as he then kissed her throat...she groaned, trying to raise her paws to swat him away. He then placed his paws on hers to keep her from doing this. "Oh, no, no, no. You owe me this." he said as he resumed the kiss.

Her friends looked on in disgust at this…. I looked on in fear...he kissed her throat…...that means he's trying to pleasure her….and that could mean….. _"No.."_ I thought. " _..Please, please, no."_

"Don't worry, I'm not going to hurt you any more than I already have." he said. "...Well, no actually. I'm still going to hurt you." as he said this, he bit a small part of fur under her neck. But unlike before, he was very gentle while doing so. "But hey once it passes, it won't feel like pain at all. Heck, In a strange way you might even find it…..likable." he whispered this last part in a slow, quiet voice. Meant for her ears and hers alone….

When she realized what was about to happen, all she could do was whisper in horror. "...No..."

"..Ah, it seems you've caught on." he said in that same quiet voice as his kisses and nibbles ever so slowly started moving downward."

"No!" she said as she tried to move her body, but the burns, bites, and scratches hurt too much for her to even wiggle.

"Oh, don't be like that. Just consider this one of the few favors I will do for you given everything that's happened." he said as he eventually had made his way to a very, VERY sacred spot on her body.

"NO!" she screamed as she realized this may be why she was crying earlier, her body realized what her mind had not.

"...The only thing I'm curious about is….will I have a son? I suppose it doesn't really matter but if so, I hope he grows to be strong. And more than willing to listen to what his father tells him…. I ALSO hope he doesn't end up like you...a shinx….and is too kind for his own good." He said as he started to…..lie on top of her.

"NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NO! NOOOOO!" she started screaming as she felt him rub her sides...this couldn't be happening….

"….it'll only last for a few minutes, okay?" He then felt an air of accomplishment around him…..he knew what was coming….he breathed in through his nose, wanting to smell that familiar scent he knew all those years ago…

He smelled something else….something different.

Once he caught the sent, he felt confused. He sniffed the air again just to be sure he wasn't imagining it, but it was there alright….it was coming….from the bush…...my bush…...he had my sent.

I realized he was looking straight at the bush I was hiding in. I backed up slowly, to avoid rustling any leaves. " _..._ _don't tell me….for the love of whatever god is out there please don't tell me..."_ I thought as I desperately tried to bury myself in the bush.

He looked at it for a few seconds before he rose from his…..'stance' and turned to walk to it. Before he did, however, he caused pillars of fire to rise from the ground, trapping Eini behind them. "This won't change anything." he said coldly before resuming his march.

No matter how much I tried to sink back into the bush, he just kept walking forward. Eventually, he walked straight into the bush…. I shut my eyes. _"….please don't….please just don't."_ I kept thinking over and over again….before I felt hot air on my face.

"That's not going to protect you."

* * *

 **Gods, have the risen spread this far? - FE:** awakening

* * *

I felt myself fly through the air for a few moments before I crashed against the ground, I cried in pain once I hit the floor.

"E-Eli?!" Eini said shocked that had come here before I slid across the floor, propelled forward by some sort of hard impact as I cried in pain. "ELI!" she shouted as I slammed against the other wall.

I rubbed the side that had taken the impact. "owww." I moaned as I then remembered the situation I was in and looked up, to see Iman looking straight at me.

"...So….i guess he's my...replacement then...isn't he?" the growlithe asked as he looked at her, expecting an answer.

"YOU LEAVE HIM OUT OF THIS!" she demanded, not wanting me to get involved in whatever this mess was….he just chuckled.

"Oh, I'm afraid that's not possible Missy...you see, this boy has heard...too much….he's SEEN to much." he said as he slowly advanced to me.

I was starting to fear for my life. I tried to crawl my way to the vent where I came from, but before I could make it a burst of flame cut me off. I then tried to crawl in the other direction, but then another burst of flame kept me from going there. "Oh, no you don't. You staying RIGHT THERE….where I want you."

I was panting really heavily as he started to close the distance between us..before he made it the whole way, I lept to the left in a last attempt to escape... I ran straight into the fire. I heard everyone gasp as I felt the flames burn my skin. "AAAGGHHH!" was the noise I made when I passed through...it hurt. Oh, gods, it hurt. More so than anything I had felt before.

By the time I had tried to stand, he was already on top of me. "...yes….now you understand.." he said as he rolled me on my side so he could look at my face...he stared at me for a while…"...fear….it's been a while since I saw that in a Pokemon..." he continued to stare at me…."...you know….watching you fear for you life like this is...oddly satisfying...even I am not sure why…..but..." as he said the rest, he trailed a nail around my body. ".. I like to think….that its because whenever I see Pokemon in fear….it tells me that I am so much stronger than them….they should fear me...all things considered….why, I could end their lives….just like….that." as he said 'that' he swiftly moved his claw across my chest. I winced as he did this….and then felt...something wet trickle down my side..as I looked at my chest I gasped….there was a red line where his claw had been...it was leaking blood.

"...However…." he said as he placed his paw on my neck. "...I might allow you to live...if you do me a small favor." as he said this, he raised my chin so that I was staring into his eyes. "….if you promise me that you will allow me to go on with my….'business'…..and swear you won't tell anyone, I'll let you scamper off into the place you came from...what do you say?" he said to me…

I thought to myself. _"Is...is he saying..."_ I breathed in once I realized what I was being told.. I looked at Eini in horror...she looked back at me…...with dread.

"….Yes, that's right. Her." he then placed his claws on my throat. "So what will it be? Your life…..or her…...'sanity'….".

I was left with an impossible decision. I could either die here, at the hands of this madman. Or I could escape….at the cost of….. I looked at her..then at him…..her…..him….her…..him….. _"Eini"_ I thought…

* * *

 **Let the music play out If it hasn't already.**

* * *

I….

started…..

crying….

Everyone looked at me confused….they didn't understand.

This group had only done nice things to me and I had only now begun to realize that. Sure, I may have had a bit of a bad first impression, but it was all in the name of friendship….they had only been nice to me this entire time…... I couldn't just let this happen to Eini….

But I'm practically being held at GUNPOINT here! if I say that out loud, THAT'S IT! CURTAINS! SHOW'S OVER FOLKS!…..and I can't just die here, my family is waiting for me to come home….so they can laugh with me again…..so hey can be with me again…...so they can know that I'm okay…..if I die now….then…

I was torn between two sides I couldn't choose between….and it seems Iman knew this.

"...So you ARE afraid of me….but you can't bring yourself to betray your friends...is that it?" he asked... I didn't have the ability to answer him. "..hmm….well if that's the case, allow me to..make it easier for you to choose." he said as he removed his paw from my throat...and raised it above his head.

"Don't worry, this will only hurt enough…..TO MAKE YOU WISH YOU WERE NEVER CONCEIVED!" he screamed as he swung his paw downward….but….before he could hit me…..

It was as if…..

Time itself…..

Stopped….

I looked around the room….nothing moved...the pillars of fire were still, like concrete...the ninjask's wings didn't move, yet they remained in the air all the same... I was so confused….

Iman wasn't pinning me down, so I crawled out from under him. I eventually regained the strength to stand on all of my legs as I looked around the room..." um…..hello?" I asked as I felt uneasy with how quiet everything was….and then…..it happened…..the best and worst thing to ever happen to me…

I discovered my birth parents.

It started with a faint noise I heard. _"…..li….."_ It whispered.

I spun around the room trying to find the cause of this noise.. "Who said that?!" I asked.

" _..ple….li….ter…..th….por…."_ was all it said back to me..

"What are you saying? I can't hear you!" I cried to the empty space around me…

Wait...empty space? I thought to myself. But I'm surrounded by-

WHERE DID EVERYTHING GO?!

I frantically looked everywhere at once. Where I once stood was gone, replaced with empty nothingness...

" _..ple….li….ter…..th….por…."_ I heard the same whispering I did before, only now it seemed to be slightly louder.

"Who's saying that?" I said to the darkness...nothing.

Then a strange….portal...thing appeared. It was colored light blue and was swirling gently…..for some reason, I wasn't frightened by it.

" _..ple….li….ter…..th….por…."_

The noise seemed to be coming from it…

Now, I'm not one-hundred percent sure why I did this, as it wasn't really like me, but I decided to walk into the portal to see what would happen…

I ended up in a space similar to the one I was in before….the only real difference was that there was a single zoroark standing there...all alone.

"...You came…..you actually came….." she said as she turned around to look at me.. "I'm so...thankful."

We stared at each other for a while... "...Eli….what's wrong?" she asked me, seemingly confused

"How….do you know my name….who even are you?" I asked, unaware of who this stranger even was…

She seemed to be upset by me saying that. "...do you….really not remember who I am?" she asked me.

"...Should I? I asked in return, unaware if I had ever seen this stranger.

Some silenced passed between us...before she balled her paw into a fist. "….Of course…..of course, those rotten humans would have sealed your memory." she said, her frustration evident in her voice.

"...Sealed my memory? What are you saying?" I asked, unsure how to respond.

She looked at me, sadness in her eyes. "...I'm sorry I just….*sigh* could you...sit down...please?" she asked me…..she looked so upset…..so pleading….. I found I was on the ground before I could realize I was even sitting.

"..." a few moments of silence passed by….before she smiled. ".. I see….maybe it's not too late." she said as she keeled to the ground...and chanted a strange prayer.

"Oh, lunala, goddess of the moon. I ask of you my humble wish…..free this boy, Eli Ansgar from the lies he has been planted with...free the memories of my son!" as she finished the chant, light started spiraling up from the ground.

"Wait-YOUR SON!? WHAT DO-" before I could finish my sentence, I felt a flurry of information enter

my brain….memories...all of them.

* * *

 **In a silver garden with you – fire emblem echoes.**

* * *

" _Come on Eli, we're gonna miss it!" I was running after a silver coated Eevee...my sister. It was late at night, but there was going to be a meteor shower any second now._

" _I'm coming Tia, just give me a minute!" I shouted back at her trying to close the distance between the two of us...we were supposed to meet up with our parents at the spot with the log any second now to watch it happen._

 _Eventually, we made it there. Mom and dad were already there, waiting for us. "well, it took the both of you long enough to get back here." mom said, in a slightly blunt manner._

" _Aw c'mon mom, at least we're here now!" Tia said, her optimism never wavering._

" _What took the two of you so long to get back here anyway?" mom asked us._

" _Well, you had told us that we should play to pass the time…. I guess we got a bit caught up?" I said, not really offering the best excuse, but it was better than none._

 _She then sighed at us. "well I suppose what matters now is that your both back, and ready to join us." she said as we all sat down to enjoy the sight…_

 _It was beautiful…the sky was lit up with falling stars, each one brighter than the last….when it was all over the last thing I remember thinking was; "I hope the four of us will always get to have moments like this together._

* * *

"...T….these are…."

* * *

 _We were running through the forest, each of us determined to out speed the other...eventually I caught up to her and tackled her into a bush._

" _TAG!" I shouted before she could get away._

" _DANG IT!….*sigh*...and I almost beat the record too." she said, annoyed that she didn't get to win that prized title I held fondly._

" _Well maybe you'll get it one day, but that day Is not today!" I said triumphantly._

" _Yeah, go ahead rub it in." she said, snarking at me…_

 _I can't remember why, but we both started laughing then…_

* * *

"..M-my..."

* * *

 _I saw a blurry silhouette place some strange piece of sorts on a board. "alright, now if I move this here..." I thought as I moved one of my pieces forward..knocking his aside._

" _*sigh*...well, that's game and set for me..." the figure said, forfeiting the match to me._

 _I raised my stub in triumph. "YES! I beat you!" I said, having finally beaten dad at that game he's always playing, I had been studying it for years now and had finally devised a sure-fire strategy to succeed._

" _That you did my boy, that you did.." he confirmed. "...though in a way...it feels satisfying. Like I've taught you well." he explained to me._

 _I smiled. "That you did dad, that you did."_

* * *

..R-real.."

* * *

 _I was snuggled up to my mom as she read me a story. "And then, the brave knight finally realized the truth...he whispered to himself; '...Zoey….my love..'" She then closed the book and put it aside. "And that's the end of the story." she said as she tried to get up….but then she realized that I was asleep._

 _She just smiled at me. "...Oh Eli,...you sleepyhead.." she then kissed my forehead. "I had a feeling you would fall asleep….that was a long one."...she then recalled something from the book...something important._

" _Eli...never forget that the most precious thing you have….is memories of us….just like we will never forget that the most precious thing we have….are memories of you..." she then wrapped me in her arms.. "..*sigh*...Hollis may not be very happy to find out about this….seeing as how I usually sleep with him….but he's just going to have to learn to share me with you." she said while booping my nose._

" _Goodnight Eli." she said as she closed her eyes...after a few moments, she fell asleep...i smiled and opened mine….she had been having trouble sleeping recently, and I thought maybe if she slept with me she'd be able to sleep easier._

"… _. I swear I won't forget..." I promised to her. "...goodnight mama.".._

 _I was around ten or eleven when these memories took place…._

 _Five years ago…_

* * *

I opened my eyes...and saw the zoroark smiling at me. "...do you remember now….sweetheart?"

The feeling I had when I was hit with Iman's flamethrower? didn't even compare to what just stabbed my heart.

"...M….mom.." I whispered…

"..Mom!" I cried to her….she….opened her arms…..for me…

"MOM!" I yelled as I ran to her side...all those years….me playing with Tia...me beating dad at that game….mom reading story's to me…..it was all flooding back...she caught me in her embrace.

"...Welcome back to us Eli..." she whispered in my ear, finally having gotten back her son after all this time…

"...Mom….i can't believe it's you….." I whispered to her. "i...I'm so sorry about-" before I could finish my thought she put her paw to my mouth.

"Don't you apologize about anything sweetie….none of this was your fault….and even if it was, I'd have forgiven you already." she said as she stroked my side…..i….couldn't stop myself.

I buried my face into her chest. "mom...i….i..." I tried to say something, but I was too shaky from the tears to form a sentence.

"It's okay….just get it out of your system." she said as we stayed there, in each other's embrace.

After a few minutes, I looked at her face...she then wiped off the tears on my face...when she was done, I smiled. "...m-mom?" I asked her.

"Yes son?" she answered me back, with the gentle kindness that I knew her for.

"...I love you…. I love you so much." I said as I hugged her chest.

"I love you too Eli." she answered back, as she did the same with me.

"..But..." I asked her a question as I pulled away. "...Why are you here?...and...where even is here?"

She then let go of me and said. "...that will be explained in due time..come, I have things I need to talk to you about." another one of those portal things appeared. We went in it shortly afterward.

* * *

 **End song**

* * *

We arrived in an area similar to the one before but different. Now, it was nothing but white. "...Okay, I don't know how much time we have left, so I need you to listen to me okay?" she asked me.

"Alright mom." I asked as I sat down.

"...So, to answer your question from earlier, I'm reaching out to your mind right now...what we're in right now is essentially your sub-conciseness." she explained...this...confused me..

"...How are you able to do that?" I asked her.

She smiled. "you may not remember, but your father was an espeon. He's the one allowing us to communicate right now."

I then asked another question. "..so if your not technically here then...where are you?" I asked, hoping to get the chance to reunite with them soon.

"If you want to know that, you should stick with that shinx you met from earlier..she might give you a clue." mom said, indicating that Eini was important in all of this somehow.

"But why can't you just tell me now?" I asked, wondering why I had to be kept away from them still.

"That's-" before she could finish, the entire place started shaking as if there was an earthquake.

"! What's going on!?" I said as I tried to regain my footing.

"Oh no, we've been found." she said as she quickly knelt down and looked into my eyes. "Eli, I need you to know something important before I leave."

"What?!" I said, distressed that I was about to lose my mother again. "what do you-"

"If at any point you feel as if all is lost and there's nowhere left for you to turn, don't think just trust your instincts and you'll be okay." she told me before the entire place started to fade away...including her.

"MOM!" I screamed as I saw her fade away before my eyes...there was a huge flash of light…..and then everything was gone….

* * *

The next thing I heard was a strange voice I had never heard before…. I feel like I shouldn't give narration to what happens next.

" **WELL LOOK WHO WE HAVE HERE, IT'S THE BOY HIMSELF!"**

"..who...who are you?"

" **EH, THAT'S NOT REALLY IMPORTANT. WHAT IS IMPORTANT IS, DO YOU WANT TO SURVIVE?"**

"...Huh?"

" **LOOK, KID, IM GOING TO MAKE THIS AS SIMPLE AS I CAN SO LISTEN UP."**

" **IF YOU GO BACK TO WHERE YOU LEFT OFF, MISTER PYRO PSYCHO OVER HERE IS GONNA ROAST YOU ALIVE….WITHOUT SOME HELP THAT IS.."**

"….What is it you want?"

" **..STRAIGHT TO THE POINT EH?"**

" **IF YOU LET ME INSIDE YOUR BODY FOR A WHILE, I CAN HELP YOU GET OUT OF THIS MESS...AND MANY MORE AFTER IT."**

"….."

" **YOU DON'T REALLY HAVE ANY OPTIONS KID, ITS EITHER ME OR HIM."**

"…..Fine, on one condition."

"You can't hurt anyone I say you can't hurt in anyway shape or form...deal?"

" **OF COURSE, I WOULDN'T DREAM OF SUCH A HEINOUS ACT ANYWAY."**

" **NOW LET ME JUST..."**

"!"

"…..."

" **ALL RIGHT, THAT SHOULD DO IT!"**

" **NOW TO HAVE SOME FUN….."**

" **CHAOS, CHAOS!"**

* * *

….

It all came back to me in an instant.

"FIRE CLAW!" he shouted as he swung downwards…..

It all came back to me...

" _Mom…"_

" _My family….."_

" _I can't die here."_

I rolled to the left and then lept into the air.

…

" _But I'm not about to sell my friends out either…."_

" _I will defeat this monster….."_

" _I WILL…."_

" _For my family….and everyone else I knew…..i love you all too much to let myself die here!"_

The growlithe then realized that I was no longer under him. "...how did.." I then felt an aura of power seep around me….and thus, the final truth dawned…. I wasn't just any zorua.

" _I am Eli Ansgar! The prince of illusion!"_

" _AND ITS TIME I LIVE UP TO THAT TITLE!_

" _LORD OF CHAOS, IF THOU HEARS ME, BLESS ME WITH THE STRENGTH I HAVE FORGOTTEN!"_

" **..."**

" _ **AS YOU WISH, MY DEAR HOST."**_

And so began my first battle in five years.

* * *

 **The world revolving around a legend - Deltarune (remix by nyxtheshield.) (or as I like to call it, the awakening of the prince)**

* * *

I wasted no time. "DARK PULSE!" I shouted at the growlithe as a burst of darkness flew out of me. He was caught off guard and took the full hit. He screamed in pain, but I wasn't going to just let him just get back up. "PUNISHMENT!" I cried as multiple energy beams flew from my stub at him.

"FLAMETHROWER!" he screamed as a burst of flame met my beams… "….of all the choices you could have made…." he said in a low, menacing tone. "THAT WAS THE WORST ONE!" he shouted, his eyes now bathed in fire.

"Yeah, about that. DOUBLE TEAM!" I cried as multiple replicas of myself faded into existence. They then scattered, with me jumping into the chaos to prevent him from hitting me...after a while of this, all of them, including me said the same thing. "You want to say that again?"

"FIRE FANG!" he screamed as he tried to bite a me that wasn't me. It faded, and I retaliated.

"AERIAL ACE!" I shouted as a white blade formed at the tip of my stub that I was somehow able to grab. Using it, I cut into the punk's skin like butter. He screamed again and then tried to jump back...not like I didn't see that coming through. "PUNISHMENT!" I shouted as the beams struck him when he landed.

At this rate, I wanted to provoke him. "For all that tough guy talk earlier, you aren't really a man of your word are you?" when he got up….oh, when he got up, I wished I could have a sketch of his face it was so good...

"….It'll be a bit difficult to hide a dead body in this place..." he spoke. "BUT IT WILL BE DAMN WELL WORTH IT! FIRE FANG!" he cried as he pounced on another clone and bit it, making it fade.

Yup, he was a clone too. And the best was yet to come.

"Another one!?" he cried in confusion, unable to tell which I was real.

"Yeah, and I've got more where those came from too!" I said as I walked to him with more of myself….and then….the real show began...

One by one, my clones took the form of Eini and her friends. I loved the way they all looked when they saw clones of themselves, they were just priceless. _"is this what it feels like to be a zorua?...it feels...good."_ I thought to myself.

"Hey, Eini!" I said, looking at the girl trapped by flames. She looked at me and as she did, I copied her body and made It my own….she was soon looking at a reflection of herself. She had the best reaction out of all of them.

"W-HU-I-GU-WAH!?" she exclaimed, her brain unable to comprehend what was happening anymore.

"This one's for you okay!" I said winking at her...man, even my VOICE was just like hers. I then stared down the baddie. "..so, any last words?" I asked.

"FLA-" before he could ready an attack, the clones were already waiting for my command to open fire.

"I'M WAAATIIIING!" I said as I gathered electricity and readied it….he was done for...and he knew it. All it took was one good look at his situation.

"…..I hope you wither in the distortion world for this you freak of nature," he said, a bitter tone in his voice.

"Yeah, about what I expected from someone like you," I said as we all used our attacks on him at once. Fire, poison, fighting, grass, and electricity hit him all at once….he screamed in agony as he fell to the floor. "Oh, and the real me was the one on the far left. Just so ya know." I said as I let out one more dark pulse….when came off the wall, he was delirious.

* * *

 **End song**

* * *

", Uh..papa?….why are you...a..cracker?…." he mutter before he passed out.

I felt myself turn back into a zorua, and my clones fade away. "...and he thought I was afraid of him...idiot," I said, playing off my previous behavior as a ruse. I looked up at the ninjask. "WELL?! ARE YOU GOING TO LET THEM DOWN OUR AM I GONNA MAKE YOU?!" after that, they drooped them instantly and ran off into the vent he came from.

The flames surrounding Eini flickered out, and she was free. "Phew," I said as I turned to her. "So where were we before this whole-" before I could finish my sentence….i suddenly felt..really dizzy…..the same kind of dizzy I felt when I turned back into a zorua…...it wasn't long before I passed out.

* * *

And that's gonna wrap up chapter three my friends! I'm sorry the last bit felt rushed, but I've been writing this for an entire day and almost the entire night.

This is riolulover97. SLEEP. NOW. * **SLAM** *

ZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ

 **(A/N okay so, I've written this last part because I forgot to do it earlier so bear with me.**

 **First of all, I want to congratulate snowlucario for being the first person to post a review on this site! thanks for the words of encouragement man! the two of us have actually been talking a lot through PM's recently and he's a pretty nice guy! if you like what you've seen here and want to do me a favor, check out his fic, adventure of a lifetime! he's been working on it for a while, and I feel like someone like him deserves more great people in his life! I'd like to go into greater detail, but I'm literally going to pass out if I don't go to sleep soon, so just go check him out! you'll like what you see I promise.**


	4. Chapter X: update1

**...**

*sigh* okay, enough is enough.

Hey guys...I'm back now, for real this time.

First of all, I just wanted to say that I'm sorry that I've been gone for so long. A lot of things have been happening in my personal life that...were very difficult to get through. I'm doing the best I can to move on, but it's been weighing on the back of my mind for a while now. And to those of you who are curious, no. My interest in fan fiction has not faded in the slightest, I've just been unable to write anything recently because of...stress.

That being said, I have decided that I want to start writing again soon. Just not right away...

See the thing that bothers me the most about all of this is that I wanted to get special Christmas themed chapter's up for both of my fics, but now I don't know if I can write them in time FOR Christmas in the first place! I'm still going to write them, but it just feels...bad.

I'm still not yet fully recovered from my...drama yet, so I don't know when I'll be able to write them. And I also want to take a minute to apologize to everyone who likes this fic, especially the aforementioned Snowlucario. I know that you guys were probably expecting me to have posted something by now and I'm trying, but I feel like I'm not in a good mood to be writing more of my...happy-go-lucky story's.

However. I know better than anyone that my skill with literature will dull if not used enough...or...at all for that matter, so I'm planning to write a mini series for you guys until I get out of this funk. I guess you can call that one of my gifts to you all of you want.

The series will be a cross-over...kind of, and should have about...six to seven chapters in it. I'm going to use that as a way for me to get back into the swing of things, and at the same time let you guys know I'm still alive. As for what the series is about...well, let's just say it's a a far cry from what your used to by now.

With that being said this is riolulover97...and try to wait for me guys...please?

( **P.S I'm writing this update chapter by literally finding a way to abuse how fan fiction works, so if there's anything wrong with this message please let me know.)**


	5. Chapter 4: The aftermath of power

Hey everyone…I'm officially back now.

…

You know what? I've kept you waiting for almost an entire month and I'm not about to keep you waiting anymore with a long authors note, so in the words of a famous YouTuber who's name I can't spell: "let's just jump into it."

(Actually, before we go flying off the handle, I want to tell you guys about this thing called POV. Now, most of you probably already know what this means, but I'm explaining it out of courtesy. POV stands for Perspective Of Viewpoint and is meant to show you, the audience, which character is currently narrating the story. For example, the text that I write now would be classified as Third-person POV as I'm not a character in the story. However, if the text indicates that the story is being told in say, Eli's POV, that means he is the one describing the events currently unfolding.

Ya got all that? Good, now let's move on.)

* * *

 **Eli's POV:**

 _..._

 **(Eschatology - Glitchtale *Series made by Camila Cuevas. Song by Nevan dove*)**

 _"Gods...where am I?" I said to myself as I looked around me. "...the last thing I remember is excepting that...thing's help and then...only bits and pieces." I take a minute to look at my hand... I notice that it seems...transparent. Almost as if I were a ghost._

 _I then hear an echoing boom sound out across the land, like a meteor landing in the distance. Alarmed I look out into that distance...I'm shocked. A shockwave of red zooms across the sky, then it slowly fades to black...the sight terrifies me, and I don't know why._ _I then notice I'm wearing some kind of ribbon I hold it in my stubs to look at it...it was the color of purple. Suddenly it starts to glow its own shade of color as everything around me fades away into a bright light._

 _When the light fades, the first thing I see is a group of strangers that all seem...blurry. After a while of staring, I must have convinced myself that this was most likely a dream so I didn't bother talking to them...and yet, they seemed very...troubled...it wasn't long before they spoke._

 _"..W...what...happened?" said one of the figures, a sense of dread hanging over its words._

 _"...My escort..." said another figure, defeat evident in its voice. "...we...failed...we weren't fast enough..." A moment passed...before he let out a primal scream and slammed the ground with some sort of weapon. "DAMM IT! WHY WEREN'T WE FAST ENOUGH?!" his voice then grew shaky as he fell to his knees. "...it's just like before...IT'S JUST LIKE GODDAMM BEFORE!"_

 _"HOLD YOUR TONGE!" said a third member of the group. "...can't you see they've been through enough without us hammering the point home?" He explained, indicating that someone in the group had been under a lot of stress as of late._

 _"Does it matter now?!" the first spat back with a tounge of fire. "we've lost! How are we supposed to defeat him without the awakening jewel!?"_

 _The third figure only looked on in silence. "WELL?!" yelled the second in irritation. "HOW ARE WE TO DO IT!?"_

 _Then a fourth one walked between the two of them. "ALRIGHT! Enough is enough you!" he said, pointing a finger at the second, who then backhanded it as if it were a ball._

 _"DON'T. Talk to me in that manner BRUTE." he said, clearly losing his temper...it seemed the other was too._

 _"DON'T. Treat me like I'm a burden ASSASIN." the fourth said back, just as harshly._

 _The second figure then drew his weapon as the fourth set his hands on...fire? Now that was something I hadn't heard of before._

 _"EVERYONE! JUST! STOP!" said a fifth member as he stood to face everyone. "I LOST ENOUGH AS IS! I DON'T NEED ALL OF YOU FIGHTING EACH OTHER OVER YOUR PETTY ARGUMENT'S!"_

 _Once his voice rang out, all the other voices stopped._

 _He then turned to the second. "Bearer of choice, I know this reminds you all to well of events that have tortured you for years, but you mustn't let them cloud your judgment! As long as we are alive, we have a job to do and I WILL see it done!" He said to the first, with a stern tone tempered with reason._

 _It was at that moment the ribbon glowed again, and I found myself somewhere else...somewhere horrifying._

 _At first, it appeared to be a plain of stone as far as the eye could see. Not wanting to be out in the open, I wandered the land for a while until I eventually came across a field of rock that arched upward. Once I scaled it, I was met...with death's twisted form of art._

 _Carcasses, everywhere. Some of them were pokemon, brutally ripped apart, stabbed, or bludgeoned by an unknown army. The others were of demonic looking beasts that be been burned, frozen, shocked, poisoned, sliced, bitten, and crushed by all of the elements of the world in various ways...it was as if I had found the graveyard of hell itself, the bodies lining the ground to the point where one could walk on them._

 _Something I found, I had to do in order to proceed._

 _The entire time, I felt a coldness I had never experienced before settle on my spine. As if death herself was watching my voyage across her domain._ _As I kept walking I found the bodies seemed to thin out after a while, until I was walking on the stone floor again..._

 _And then... I saw...that._

 _In front of me, lay twelve final corpses. The first five were of varying demons in shape and appearance. One of them was a pancham with a hole in his heart...in the hole...was a note... it read as follows: "You should have trusted your friends...rather than believe solely in your own strength, as you searched for more power." The sight creeped me out._

 _The next...froze my heart with a sudden chill...before shattering it to pieces._

 _Th...they...they were there...all of them...Zoe...Vasu...Jax...Amar...and...a-and...Eini...Oh gods, Eini._

 _I walked towards them, my entire body shaking all the way...It took me a while to get there. When I did, I tried to find any sort of life signs from them...and got nothing. "...Oh, gods...guys..." I whispered to myself... I started to feel tears run down my face...they were dead...all of them...gone, like the wind..._

 _Except for one._

 _I heard coughing from my right and found that eini...was still alive. "EINI!" I screamed as I rushed to her side, not wanting to lose her too._

 _After she finished coughing, I heard her breathe softly. I gripped her paw with my own "EINI PLEASE! DON'T GO!" I screamed, at this point emotionally unstable... I was practically begging her to stay alive._

 _Eventually, her breathing grew deeper, and faster...she wasn't going to die yet, that was for certain. She managed to open her eyes slightly. "...e...ei-" before she could say anything else, I put an appendage on her chest._

 _"Don't say anything please!...just...save your strength...use it to recover." I told her._

 _She kept looking at me, continuing to breathe...before she groaned in pain and clamped her eyes shut. Panicked, I frantically looked at her body...it horrified me. Three gaping marks in her chest. Each, leaking blood out...the area I touched was just above them...she would die at this rate._

 _Thinking quickly, I tied the scarf I was wearing around the wound to try to stop the bleeding...it seemed to be working, but I just wished I could do more...sadly I had no supplies to treat her wounds properly..."...Are you okay? Tap my...thing if you are" I asked...to my relief, I felt her weakly touch my stub..she was alright._

 _I sighed a sigh of relief as I looked around. "...C'mon, we need to get to someplace other than here." I said as I gently picked her up on placed her on my back._

* * *

 _After a while of wandering, we made it back to the_ sea _of body's...as we wandered, I noticed that the pokemon were carrying bags of supplies. I searched through them, hoping to find something that would help her while I had no luck with medical equipment, I managed to find a satchel of water, along with two Oran berries._

 _I set her down behind one of...'them' to prop herself upright I then handed her the berries and water. "..here, have these, they might get your strength back." I said to her. She opened her eyes and tried to reach her arm towards the 'meal' but her arm just fell back to the ground. "can you not lift them?" I asked. she managed to slightly, move her head from side to side._

 _I picked up the satchel for her. "here, let me do it." I said as I pressed the tip against her lips and lifted... I could see her throat move up and down, drinking the liquid._

 _After a while she let out a soft "mmph" indicating she was done. I lowered the satchel and she panted slightly...although this time, I could tell there was a lot more life in those breaths than the ones before... I raised the berries to her mouth. She bit one of them and chewed it, the juice hopefully, revitalizing her._

 _We took a few moments to rest there...before I heard a voice speak to me._

 _"..So...the boy has wandered into the future it seems." The voice said._

 _I sprang to my feet. "Who's there?!" I shouted._

 _..._

 _Nothing..._

 _"...It truly is an injustice fate has cast upon you...even her life can't be determined to be saved...but, if you are here, in this place, and have that scarf as well...perhaps you can escape." the voice said to me._

 _I frantically looked everywhere but could see nothing that I hadn't seen before... I then felt very tired...as if I had spent all my energy at once...the last thing I heard after collapsing to the ground was this:_

 _"...Eil, as the prince of illusion, it is foretold that you will be the one to save your friends from a terrible fate...but you can't do that as you are now...trust in your beast-like instincts, utilize your human-gifted intelligence, and master your powers of deception through anyway possible before you run out of time..."_

 _"Of course, you can't do any of that...if you're asleep."_

 **(let the music play out.)**

* * *

 **Eini's POV:**

 **(Falana - Dust: An Elysian Tail)**

...

I stood alone, next to the bed...

After all of that nonsense, the people in the center deemed Iman to be rabid and a threat to the rest of the pokemon in the center after they saw what he did to us. He was thrown out of the place, and all that remained of him was his lackeys... I just didn't know what to think... I really dodged a bullet there...we ALL did...but at what cost?

Yes we had escaped, but at the end of it all, Eli was completely exhausted and unconscious...by the time everyone got there, he was in bad shape...ms joy told me that it was most likely because that this was the first time he had ever tried to use his moves before...the backlash was too much for him to handle.

They had put him in a bed and ran a diagnostic on him...it didn't look good...he was in a coma...Three weeks had already passed.

I looked at the face of the zorua who had saved me...his mouth was covered in a breathing mask that automatically brought air into his lungs...he had no wounds, but it was still...painful to look at...i gripped his paw in mine...

I couldn't help but wonder...what was going on in his head right now? I knew that it was common for peplole in comas to have dreams, so I wondered what he was dreaming about right now... I hoped it was a nice dream, filled with whatever it was he desired.

"...Oh, Eil." I said to myself as I watched him rest. "...please wake up...please come back to us..."

* * *

And that does it for today everyone! I hope you're all excited for the return of dual natures. But that's not the only thing to return, I can promise you guys that as of today, I am out of my funk and ready to post again for a bunearys heart! I don't know exactly when the chapter will come out, but I DO know that it will be the very next thing I work on after this.

with that being said, this is riolulover97, hoping ya'll get to go to heaven!

(Also don't worry, I'm not going to abandon The last days either, it's just IT'S turn to get the back seat for now.)


	6. Chapter 5: The first of many

**Alright then, ENOUGH with these blasted cliffhangers!**

Hey guys, riolulover97 here! bringing you all anoth-

Eini: GIVE ELI BACK TO US NOW! **(grabs a nearby pencil and starts waving it at me while making loud noises.)**

Me: WHOA! WHOA! CHILL! I was JUST getting to that okay!?

Eini: **(pants for a few moments.)**...Y...Your right...*sigh* sorry its just...j-just...

Me: ..Uh...Eini? You alright?... you're getting pretty teary-

Eini: I CAN'T GO WITHOUT HIM ANY LONGER! **(starts crying, slightly.)**

Me: ...

Eini: ...

Me: (sigh)

Eini: ...

Me: ...

Eini: 0_0

Me: ...oh boy.

Eini: D-don't get any ideas! I-I just miss him! 0*~*0

Me: SURE you do. -_-

Me: Anyway, back to the chapter.

* * *

 **Eli's Pov: flashback**

...

 _I...still remember that day..._

 **(Together - Peder B. Helland)**

 _It was...afternoon...9:00 I think..._

 _..._

 _The first thing I remember doing was letting out a soft yawn...I looked around the room I was currently in...just...watching._

 _Heh...yeah, no amount of coffee could compare to what you did on that day... I sware, you lept on me like I was covered in maple syrup...you just cried on my chest saying the same words over and over again._

 _"... you're alive...you're really alive..."_

 _You whispered those words in my ears over and over again...heh...and all I could do was frantically ask you why you were panicking so much...that was...a bit inconsiderate of me, I suppose._

 _You...explained all of it to me...how, apparently, I fought back against Iman...how I...saved you guys...and then I just collapsed...being you, you jumped to worst-case scenarios very quickly, thinking that I had been...well let's not dwell on that._

 _When nurse joy came into the room, we were lucky she didn't blame the mess on us...eh, I like to think that she knew I wouldn't hurt somebody if I didn't have to...she was right of course, but it was nice to KNOW that she knew that about me._

 _..._

 _The first thing you did after that was...apologize. For everything...I just told you it was fine, you were already forgiven that day...you still felt like it was you to blame for the whole mess..._

 _I blamed myself...not a lot, but still. I shouldn't have made you worry about me like that..you told me it was fine, that I had no control over it...then I told you why were you worried about a simple spook?...I remember...you laughed at that...not your 'i just pulled a prank' snicker but...a real genuine laugh._

 _There was something...mysterious about that laugh, as I learned that day...there was something...special about it...it felt like...you were breathing new life into me with that laugh..._

 _Is that weird to say? I guess but...the truth IS stranger than fiction._

 _..._

 _A few minutes later, you were walking down the hallway with me to see everyone...they were all ecstatic to see I was still kicking... I remember how they all congratulated me about kicking that 'mutt's butt' as they called it...I...felt a bit flustered at all the praise._

 _At that moment, my stomach rumbled audibly...that was...not my greatest moment...one of my stubs reached for the back of my head after hearing that noise... afterward, we all decided that the best course of action would be to get some lunch._

 _..._

 _We were all sitting around in the same room as before, a plate for each of us...as a treat for all of us, ms joy had made sandwiches for everyone. PB and J, obviously. I for one was relieved at the turn of event because...I'm not really sure how I would fare with...pellets._

 _After that, you took a moment to thank me...for everything I had done for you guys at this point... I just smiled and told you it was just the thing I should have done...you told me I still deserved something in return, and you'd give it to me once you figured out what it was..._

 _It was sweet of you, that was for sure._

 _..._

 _But...man though..._

 _Looking back...it all seems so...whimsical._

 _Like it all just...happened to fall into place._

 _..._

 _And now?_

 _We're here...we're okay._

* * *

 **(** **End flashback )**

 **...**

I lay alone in the grounds outside the pokemon center, star's glimmering over-head...thinking about all the crazy things that had happened to me over the two weeks I had stayed here...

After that whole fiasco, it seemed like everything at the center had calmed down a bit...without the presence of Iman, everything in the center seemed to calm down. Of course, there were a few of his goons that needed to be dealt with, but our team soon cleared any possible threats of his return through his lackeys.

...

It's funny, he was built up so much during my time at the center as some kind of evil villain, yet he seemed to vanish as soon as he was introduced...it's strange how life works isn't it?

...

I thought back to my family...they have to be worried about me...right? I mean, I've been gone for about two weeks...they had to have been expecting me by now to come home... I thought of their faces...my sis...my mom...my dad...the people I've known my entire life...

I looked back at the center...

...

I had already explained the situation to Eini...she would be okay with it...hopefully.

...

* * *

 **(Flashback: one hour ago)**

 _"..."_

 _She just stared at me...in sadness._

 _"...So your saying...you have to leave soon?" Eini asked me, sadness tainting her voice._

 _"...I'm...afraid so..." I answered to her, the same sadness in my voice.  
_

 _I had explained to her that my family was expecting me to come home soon, and if I stayed any longer here they would start to fear the worst...at this point, she knew how much they meant to me, and I to them._

 _"...Listen...if I could stay here-"_

 _"No, its fine." she said, cutting me off from saying anything else._

 _I was taken slightly aback by this. "I...really?"_

 _"...Yeah...I mean...as much as I want you to stay with us...asking you to leave them behind would be...selfish...especially after hearing about how much you all mean to each other." She explained to me, doing her best to put her brain before her feelings._

 _I wanted to say something...but nothing came to my mind._

 _"...Can you promise me something though?" she asked me, hoping that I could give an answer._

 _"What is it?" I asked, willing to do whatever it was to make her feel better about this._

 _"...I...don't know when it is we'll see each other again...or...if we even WILL...but...if and when we do...could we...stick together?" she breathed out, the question one she had to ask._

 _"..."_

 _I thought it over in my head._

 _"...Yes...we will, that much is certain...after all...you've left to much of a mark on me for me to just forget you..."I said to her...we really had come far from that first meeting in the lake._

 _She smiled at me. "...Then I guess I can rest easy." she said as she turned around to walk away,_ _presumably to tell everyone else about my departure...but before she left, she said one last thing to me...something I hope I never forget._

 _"...Goodbye Eli...my friend...my best friend...I hope you have a good life with your family."_

 _..._

* * *

 **(End flashback)**

...

"Her best friend?" I thought to myself. "...Am I really that important to her?"...

I looked again at the center...as sad as it was, I had no other choice...I couldn't just abandon the people I had known my entire life...

It was a grand adventure...but now it was time I said goodbye...

I looked at my stub one last time...before it was covered in a purple glow...I was then staring at the hand I had stared at so many times...

At this point in time, I had finally learned how to use my...let's call them, powers...meaning if I were to return home...no one would know the difference.

I stood once again on my legs...just two of them...it simultaneously felt familiar and different at the same time.

...

Armed with nothing but the simple backpack I had when I first came to the center, I started my voyage to home...where I would put all of this behind me.

 **(End song)**

* * *

...

As I walked down the trail that was set in front of me, I kept thinking about how my family would react to seeing me again...they would probably scream in joy to have seen me again, alive and well...I smiled...I couldn't wait to see them again...

...

I came up to a fork in the road, Seemingly innocuous.

On one side of the road, I could see houses in the distance dotting the landscape...a quiet and peaceful neighborhood.

On the other, I could see a forest, filled with life in the form of plants and small creatures that had not yet gone to sleep.

...

At first, I headed to the houses, where my family was...

...

Or...

...

...

...Was it?

 **(Vanishing grace innocence - The Last Of Us *Or as I like to call it, 'crossroads'*)**

...

It came back to me...

That...vison...

My...

...Mom?

...

Was she my mom?...

...

Or...

Maybe I was just dreaming about it?...

...

I looked back at the forest...

It seemed so...inviteing. With its gentle greens and faint breeze, it was as if it was beckoning me to come to it...

...

The same was true for the houses.

With their calming browns and scent of wood, it was as if it was...persuading me to come to it...

...

...

Two roads...

Both equally pleasant...

And yet, I can only go down one...

...

But...

WHICH one?...

...

The houses?

Or the forest?

...

I thought back to the vision I had so long ago...

I...

Remembered them...

So clearly...

...

Almost as if...

They were my own...

...

...

They...

...

HAD. To be my own...

...

I wouldn't remember them this clearly if otherwise...

...

And yet...

...

My memories of my family...

...

Were ALSO my own...

...

...

...

...

What...

Does this mean?

...

How can I remember two different families...

As...

If...

...

They were my own?

...

They can't BOTH be right...

...

Can they?

...

No...

There's no way...

...

...

But then...

...

Which one...

Is right?

...

I walked back to the point where the two roads split...both of them, waiting for someone to walk them...

...

"Which one?" I asked myself.

...

I sat down on the ground...I changed my shape...one more time...

...

As I looked down I saw my stub on one side of me...

...

Who am I?

...

And by proxy...

...

WHAT am I?

...

Am I Eli Ansgar? A zorua born to a zoroark and espeon?

...

I looked to the other side of me and saw my hand.

...

Am I Eli Holand? A human born to a man and woman?

...

Am I the prince of illusion?

...

Am I just a human?

...

Who are my family?

...

Who do I turn to?

...

Where do I go?

...

I took one more look at the two roads ahead of me...they just waited for something...anything...

...

Who am I?

...

Who are my family?

...

...

...

* * *

And...that's the end of dual natures everyone...

For now.

Okay so, before anyone starts to panic let me explain. So, this chapter is to be the final part of dual natures...before Eil makes an important decision. Yup, everything I've shown you guys here was actually just a taste of what's to some.

So as you all saw, Eil is now torn between his two lives and doesn't know what to do next. Should he go back to his life of comfort, and everything he knew before as a human?

Or, should he seek out the Zoruark who gave him new memories of a life he doesn't recognize, in order to find the truth as a zorua?

It's a tough call, and one...that would be impossible for Eli to decide on his own...That is where you come in.

Yes, my viewers, I want YOU. To decide where Eli's journey shall take him from here. I want YOU. To determine his path.

But how do you do that? I bet your wondering.

Simple.

Once this chapter goes out, I will organize a poll with two choices. One is to follow the path of the forest...and for Eli to chase after the Zoroark.

The other is to follow the path of the houses...And for Eli to put all of this behind him and pick up where he left off.

After two weeks, whichever choice has more people for it will be the next story I write for this series. And will influence major key events that happen in his journey.

And don't think this choice will be for not too! For if you post a review on the story saying which side you want Eli to follow (It doesn't have to be anything else, just that.) I will give a story of your choosing a shout-out for you to gain more viewers of your own! And while you may THINK that doesn't sound all that helpful, I have a lot more views on this story than you may think. ;)

Until then though, this will be the last you hear of dual natures for some time...that doesn't mean I'll be on hiatus though! It just means I'm going to be prioritizing other stories for now.

And...yeah, I think that's it for now.

This is riolulover97, thanking all of you, for reading this fic...I had a great time making it, and I can't wait to see which side wins.

* * *

 **BRIEF DESCRIPTION FOR PATH'S:**

Seek your origin:

 **This path will feature Eli traveling around the world as a wandering zorua, looking for his pokemon family. This path will show Eli how to survive as a pokemon and return his memories that he has forgotten.** **This path will also feature scenes set outdoors, as well as tense action and fun adventures.**

 **A majority of Eli's friends will be pokemon, however, he may come in contact with some kind humans if fate wills it.**

 **During this path, Eli will discover the beauty and cruelty of nature, and learn what it truly means to be alive. He will also gain incredible powers, the likes of which no human could obtain.**

 **At the end of this path, Eli will have reunited with his pokemon family and learn of his true self but he will never see his human family again.**

 **Possible drawbacks to picking this path include risks of physical injury, having loved ones put in danger, and chances of death or life-threatening events.**

Return to your life:

 **This path will feature Eli returning home to his human family, keeping this strange adventure of his a secret. This path will show Eil how to make a living as a human and remind him who he is at heart. This path will also feature scenes set in the heart of city's, as well as playful banter and heartwarming moments.**

 **A majority of Eli's friends will be human, however, running into pokemon will be inevitable on his journey and he's bound to befriend some of them.**

 **During this path, Eli will reacquaint himself with civilization and learn why knowledge is power. He will also become an incredible tactician, the likes of which no pokemon could replicate.**

 **At the end of this path, Eli will have returned home to a warm welcome and become a hero to his loved ones, but the thought of what became of his pokemon family will haunt him forever.**

 **Possible drawbacks to picking this path include risks of phycological injury, seeing loved ones hurt, and chances of insanity or mental-health threatening events.**

 **...**

 **So now that you know your choices...**

 **...**

 **Which will it be?**

 **Seek your origin?**

 **Or,**

 **Return to your life?**


	7. Chapter X update2

So uh...this Is going a bit slower than I thought.

* * *

 **Start menu - Undertale**

* * *

Hey guys, riolulover97 again! And sorry but NO, this is not the continuation of dual natures. I know some of you may not be happy to hear that but trust me, I wanted to stay away from it for a while for a reason. Now, the reason I wanted to post this little update is because of a few things I've noticed as I waited for the votes to finish, one of which being...there's not a lot of people voting for either side at the moment.

Now, I'm saying this to be all like YoU DUmB IdiOTs! WHy diD yOU NoT VotE?! That's just egotistical I mean, it's not like everyone who comes to see this story is IMMEDIATELY going to pick a side because my story is 'top notch'. but out of the 600 of you who've read this, (I'm not going to freak out or anything again, but I still love you guys/gals for this. ^_^) only five people have voted. Hammering the nail in the coffin is that I can probably tell who those five people are.

Again, I'm not saying this to be complaining about how 'unfair the ratio of viewers to voters is' that's dumb. As far as I'm concerned, I'm lucky already to have this many people reading my content. Fun fact by the way: when I had first joined fanfiction, I was only expecting about ten to fifteen people to have even bothered with my story. At first, I just posted these things for the heck of it, not really expecting to get anywhere major with it...and NOW look where I am!

It's just, by reading over the data, I've come to only about three conclusions.

One: A lot of people who read my story don't care about it which, I respect, it's not like I'm the next president or something.

Two: I'm being lied to and no one is actually reading this...which I doubt, I've MET people who've read my content so unless something about this system is severely bugged out, I am being noticed at least.

Three: A lot of you are operating under the: #toolazytologin policy, or just don't have your own account for fanfiction...*sigh*...I don't get why this would be a thing.

First of all: It's not that hard to type out a few words for your sing in. Heck, I just leave the page where I sing in open all the time since I have an actual PC instead of a laptop.

Second of all: It's really not that hard to get an account for the site at all. Heck, you don't even need to have written anything for the site at all! The only things you need to do are type your username, a password for that username, and your email address. If I can do it, so can you.

Anyway, I just wanted to draw attention to this little thing I noticed. Not trying to pressure anyone into voting or anything, just wanted to know why this was.

So with that, this is riolulover97, hoping you all get to go to heaven!


	8. Mini update

THE NEW STORY IS OUT!

PLEASE READ IT?!


End file.
